Central African Republic Announces Official Cryptocurrency, Sango Coin
The Central African Republic’s (CAR) President, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has introduced Sango Coin, the nation’s cryptocurrency.
Yesterday, he announced it over a web event.
The president of the nation provided ideas for using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies nationally at the “Sango Genesis Event.” The nation’s resources will be tokenized in order to increase investment prospects, even if the specifics of the national token have not been made public:
In April, the nation officially recognized bitcoin as legal cash, becoming it the second nation after El Salvador to do so. Toudera is the project’s driving force, and the Central African Republic’s National Assembly is on board with it as well.
Remember when Project Sango, the nation’s announcement to open Africa’s first bitcoin investment centre, was covered by Technext in May? A component of that effort is the introduction of the Sango Coin.
What will be done with the Sango coin?
“Sango Coin will be the next-generation money for the Central African Republic,” said President Touadéra in his speech. According to the Sango website, it will “enable the tokenization of the riches of the Central African Republic for global investors.” According to the website, Sango Coin will also serve as the “portal to the natural resources of the Central African Republic.”
The government of the nation had previously declared plans to tokenize its natural resources, such as copper, diamonds, and oil. As part of the building of a “crypto island” on the Oubangui River, it also intends to employ Sango Coin to establish a cryptocurrency-based economy supported by private investment.
Cryptocurrencies, according to President Toudera, are a way to combat financial marginalization in the nation. He said: “Considering the cost of opening bank accounts.”
“Cryptocurrencies are an alternative to cash. A formal economy is not an option for us anymore.
He also emphasized how important it is to give users of smartphones easy access to cryptocurrencies. He accomplished this by drawing an analogy to the underutilized CAR banking industry, which has entry restrictions.
“The citizens will gain at every level, they will live in a country in full economic development, which means employment and prosperity. Moreover, they will benefit from virtual transactions which, in contrast to traditional banking, have the advantage of rapid access, fast execution, lack of bureaucracy, and low cost.”
According to the Touadéra administration, it will digitise its land registry system using blockchain technology.
Hervé Ndoba, the minister of finance for the Central African Republic, was also present. He said that bitcoin is used to support the national cryptocurrency.
Sango Coin’s bitcoin backing is still not obvious, though.
Moving forward
Despite the current bear market in cryptocurrencies, CAR is unaffected. In fact, the government is moving forward despite warnings from financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently warned about the dangers of accepting cryptocurrency as legal tender.
Despite having a wealth of resources like gold and diamonds, the CAR is one of the world’s poorest nations. It is a nation that has endured years of unrest and violence.
With such considerations in mind, the decision to accept cryptocurrencies, despite low internet penetration and intermittent electricity supply, comes as a surprise to bitcoin experts, lawmakers, residents, and financial institutions like the IMF, who have all questioned the initiative’s practicality.
These obstacles may make it difficult for Sango to succeed, but if it does, it will be a ground-breaking achievement that will usher in a new era.
It will be interesting to see what plays out in the next few months as more details about the Sango project are disclosed.
